Three Months Later
by tryanforever91
Summary: My version of the epilogue to Lockdown by Tertiary Genesis. It’s been three months since Troy and Ryan had that talk together, locked up in D17. Troy’s got a surprise for Ryan to mark their third anniversary, but someone else has a surprise for Troy.


**Author's Note: **Okay, as a response to Tertiary Genesis' challenge, here's my _attempt_ at re-writing the epilogue to his story, _Lockdown_. I more or less tried to stay true to what he had written, because it really was nice the way he did it. The premise fit fluffy to a T, and all credit goes to him for coming up with the idea. I decided to give re-writing it a shot. I hope I do it justice.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own High School Musical, or any of its characters or settings. They are all borrowed, and belong to Disney. I also do not own Lockdown by Tertiary Genesis. Ideas from his story are borrowed with permission.

Okay then, it's time to get down to business. Without further ado, I present to you: Three Months Later…

* * *

**Three Months Later  
**Written by tryanforever91

_-Original story by Tertiary Genesis-_

Perched on the choir raisers with his back leaned against the tier behind him, Troy sat amid the symphony of squeaks and squawks that could only be East High's music program during second period. His acoustic – idle and still in its case – was propped up beside him, thankfully not adding to the din. Through this musical equivalent of a tornado, Troy could scarcely hear himself as he let out a restless sigh. He was late yet again.

Waiting for Ryan was never an easy thing to do for Troy, even after three months of standing at his doorstep with a bunch of flowers waiting to take him to dinner or a movie. Each minute passed so slowly, it was as if Father Time was slogging through molasses with a piano tied to his ass. Still, in spite of that (or perhaps because of it), Ryan never failed to steal Troy's breath away every time a door swung open to reveal his radiant face. His stunning blue eyes and timid smile were enough to make Troy forget about everything else, and inject one simple thought in his mind: that he was the luckiest person in the world.

Troy sighed again, but it was a dreamy, far-off sigh as he anticipated that moment when his love would grace him with is presence; that one moment in which all the world melted away around him. It was growing harder to stay annoyed with his absent boyfriend, and a persistent smile tugged at the corners of Troy's mouth. Soon, but not soon enough for Troy, Ryan stepped through the open door of the music room, and Troy's heart swelled in his chest. Spotting Troy instantly, Ryan bounded up to him with that familiar, warm smile. He climbed up the raisers to where Troy was sitting and leapt into his arms.

"Hi Troy," Ryan greeted cheerfully, pecking his love softly on the cheek. "Sorry I'm late."

"I bet you are," Troy said with an air of playful sarcasm. As Ryan sat himself between Troy's legs, Troy fumbled with the latches imprisoning his guitar and lifted the case open. Grabbing his trusty acoustic by the neck, he set it on Ryan's lap. "Remind me again, why am I doing this for you?"

"Because you love me," Ryan replied smugly, grinning as he leaned his head back on Troy's left shoulder. Even as he said it, Ryan could not suppress that feeling of overwhelming joy that rose within him every time Troy held him close. It was the most amazing feeling in the world to know that somebody loved you. And Troy did love Ryan. He didn't love Gabriella, or Sharpay, or anyone else, and to finally know that, no, Troy wasn't going to just abandon him for some girl was more than Ryan could ever ask for. Ryan sighed contentedly. "And anyways, you owe me big time for last month." Troy laughed at this.

"Yeah? How do you figure that?"

Troy could hear Ryan let out a hurt gasp, and he could only imagine the ridiculous face Ryan was wearing. Leave it to an Evans to overreact to everything. "I went all out for our two-month anniversary! Now it's your turn to do something for me," he replied indignantly.

"Okay, okay," Troy said, chuckling at his complaining boyfriend. "I'll teach you how to play the guitar." He held Ryan's hands in his own, gently moving Ryan's fingers to the right places.

Being this close to Troy, and having his strong arms surrounding him, his hands on his own guiding them through this slow process, truly made Ryan feel at ease. He could always feel safe in Troy's arms, and even if they were just sitting around fumbling with an E Major chord, Ryan could not think of anywhere he would rather be. He relaxed his body, willing himself to become one with Troy.

Troy could feel Ryan leaning into his embrace as he moved each finger of his left hand on the fret board. It was a feeling Troy was definitely getting used to, and it was one of the reasons he loved being with Ryan so much. It was a little known fact that Troy was big on cuddling, and Ryan was certainly not one to argue. Troy held Ryan tighter as he moved his right hand up and down over the guitar strings, burying his face in Ryan's lusciously soft, golden hair. The scent that filled his lungs was endlessly warming, spreading through him like a cup of hot chocolate on a crisp autumn morning. The smell brought Troy back to a morning in early October, when the sun was only halfway risen, painting the world golden as droplets of dew sparkled like diamonds on the grass…

It was only a few weeks after the last lockdown. Troy and Ryan were strolling through Lionsgate Park, hand in hand, holding two paper coffee cups from the 7-Eleven on the corner. It was rare for Troy to be awake at seven o'clock in the morning, but there was something about the Autumn air that pulled him outside everyday without fail. It was a magical time for him, and who better to spend it with than the love of his life? They strode down a path through the sparse wood surrounding the park, the golden light of sunrise filtering through the withering trees. Under them, frostbitten leaves of yellow and orange crunched as they slowly meandered through the park.

"So…" Ryan said quietly. He didn't want to violate the serene stillness of their silent walk, but he also didn't want to not say anything. "French Vanilla, huh?"

Troy grinned and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know it doesn't sound very manly, but I do like my coffee rich and sweet."

"Just like me," Ryan added cheekily, his eyes twinkling with joy. Troy laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so." He leaned over and placed a kiss on Ryan's cheek, catching the scent of his hair as he did.

The path took them further around the park, and soon it lead to a lonely wooden bench sitting on the edge of the path. It looked very inviting, and the two boys happily took their seat on it. Getting comfortable on the bench together, Troy and Ryan did their best to keep a conversation going. They talked about the first thing that came to their minds.

"I don't know about you, but I'd have to say that Solitaire is way better than FreeCell," Troy stated affirmatively. Ryan snorted and shook his head.

"That's because you can't even play FreeCell."

"I so can!" Troy said defensively.

"Without hitting Control M?" Ryan asked, tilting his head disbelievingly. Troy's brow creased and he looked at his boyfriend bemusedly.

"Ry, I think that's Spider Solitaire, not FreeCell."

Ryan's eyes widened as he realized his mistake, and his rosy face burned a bit redder as he tried to hide his embarrassment by taking a sip of his coffee. Smiling, Troy pulled Ryan's cup away from his mouth and lifted his chin with a finger. Troy's eyes seemed to shine with the laughter he was containing, and he started to lean closer to Ryan, who was blushing fiercer by the minute. The smell of Troy's French Vanilla mixed with Ryan's Irish Cream as the clouds of their breath collided with each other. The warmth tickled their noses, and made their skin prickle, and soon, they were barely an inch from each other…

Troy could remember that day as if it were yesterday, the memory of it engraved in his mind forever. As he helped Ryan strum a simple chord progression, he placed a few feather light kisses on the back of his neck. Troy had no doubt in his mind that he and Ryan were meant to be.

Not far from the action on the choir raisers, Chad was sitting in a corner of the room with his bass guitar in hand. He glanced up to see the two boys sharing their moment, and he couldn't help but chuckle. _At it again_, he thought, shaking his head. Not that he thought it was a bad thing; quite the contrary actually. Troy had actually been pretty miserable with Gabriella sometimes, and to finally see him so happy, with a boy or otherwise, was enough to make Chad happy to. After all, Troy was Chad's best friend, and he would always accept Troy no matter who he was. Well, as long as they didn't get _too_ cuddly. Sometimes, it was enough to make a guy sick, y'know?

"Get a room, you two!" Chad hollered at Troy and Ryan.

"Aw, you're just jealous because you don't have a boyfriend," Ryan goaded impishly, flashing Chad a cheeky smile. He was in a very good mood that day, and he tended to get quite playful when he was in a good mood. Troy's incessant kisses weren't hurting things either. Chad made a sound of disgust.

"I don't _want_ a boyfriend, thanks," he retorted, making gagging sounds. Ryan stuck out his tongue at Chad, scrunching up his face as Troy guided his hands through a B Flat Major Seventh.

"Did you see what he just did, Troy?" Chad exclaimed, looking at Ryan in disbelief.

"Yeah, 'cause I can see through Ryan's head," Troy remarked.

"He stuck his tongue out at me!" Chad said. "How old is your boyfriend again?"

"Old enough to know that you're out of your mind," Troy replied, squeezing Ryan tight. "Ryan would never do anything that mean, would you Ryan?" Ryan turned to look at Troy, and smiled.

"Course not," he said, and the two shared a quick kiss before resuming their pseudo-guitar-lesson. Chad rolled his eyes and reverted his attention back the blues bass line he was practicing.

Troy and Ryan continued strumming on Troy's guitar, stumbling slowly through a simplified rendition of some song Troy found lying around. When Ryan had hit the last chord, the two boys sighed in relieved content and relaxed for a bit.

"That was good, Ry," Troy said, setting the guitar down and wrapping his arms around Ryan's waist. He leaned his head on Ryan's shoulder playfully nipped at the boy's earlobe.

"Thanks, Troy," Ryan murmured, giggling and squirming as Troy continued to attack his ear.

"Okay, well, I have to go for a sec," Troy said, attempting to lift off of him. "Nature calls." Ryan nodded obediently and stood up so Troy could move around. He gave Ryan one last kiss on the cheek. "Love you."

Ryan smiled and kissed Troy back. "I love you too, Troy. Don't be long, 'kay?"

"Yeah." Troy nodded and hopped off the raisers. He made his way across the room and strolled into the hallway. When he was out of sight, Ryan picked up Troy's guitar. Looping the strap over his shoulder, and looking quite sure of himself, Ryan fingered an F Sharp Major and started playing a lively song, suddenly sounding like he had grown up playing guitar. Chad stared at him in disbelief.

"You were just playing him, weren't you?" Chad accused, pointing a finger.

Ryan interrupted his humming to give Chad a response. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about how you totally played Troy there just as an excuse to cuddle with him." Chad said. Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Not true." He then proceeded to ignore Chad as he continued playing a song that he had written. He grinned to himself. Chad had seen right through him. For the better part of his life, Ryan had known how to play the guitar _and_ piano, and the only reason he asked for Troy to teach him was so that he could be close to Troy.

RIIIING!! RIIIING!! RIIIING!! RIIIING!!

Ryan jumped when the lockdown alarm went off. He let go of Troy's guitar and looked around the room. Another lockdown drill already? They weren't due for one for a long while yet. No one else seemed fazed by the irregular drill, but Ryan had a funny feeling inside of him. Principal Matsui didn't just call drills on a whim, especially without an announcement beforehand. Ryan stared at the door, which was now locked, putting the room in full lockdown mode. As he was shepherded into a corner by the music teacher, Ryan could only hope Troy would make it back soon and in one piece.

-o-o-o-

Making his way back from the bathroom, Troy was startled when the lockdown alarm went off. It seemed a bit weird that they were having a drill now of all times, but Troy continued down the Drama hall anyways. He slowed his pace so he wouldn't have to wait as long outside the music room, which would no doubt be locked. As his footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, Troy suddenly had the eerie feeling that he was being watched. He slowed his pace even more, carefully listening for anything else, but the only thing he heard was the still-broken PA speaker, which had yet to be repaired. From behind him, another person's footsteps were suddenly heard, and Troy whipped around. Troy relaxed a little when he saw a familiar face, but confusion set in when something was amiss.

"Hey man, what's with the ba—…"

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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And that's that!

As I said before, I really tried to stay true to what Tertiary Genesis had already written, while injecting of my own flair into it as well. I hope it turned out okay!

I hope I didn't go overboard with the narration. My first draft actually had more narration than that (which is totally unlike me, usually I'm always so heavy on dialogue), but I really thought it was starting to get cumbersome, so I cut a paragraph or two out. I also hope I didn't ruin a good story with a bunch of cliches (that's a bad habit of mine).

I really wanted to expand on that first date, because it sounded adorable. Fall also happens to be my favourite season, so I really connected with that. I also wanted to make connections with other events that happened in Lockdown, namely the whole thing with Gabriella. Ryan never seemed that sure that Troy was over Gabriella in Lockdown, and I kinda wanted to write how, after three months, he was starting to see that Troy actually loved him.

With the ending, I did a bit of guessing, since I really don't know who Troy saw. I just assmumed this 'familiar face' was one of his friends, and I used to that kind of lull him into a false sense of security until he sees... well, whatever 'ba-..." is. My first guess was that it was Sharpay, but I wasn't really serious. If I had to take another wild guess... I'd say it was Jason, just because we never really found out just how he dealt with seeing the two boys in D17.

I also amplified the feeling of something wrong in the last bit, for the sake of suspense I guess...

Other than that, I don't think I changed much. I hope this turned out okay.

Many thanks go to Tertiary Genesis for writing his magnificent story, Lockdown. Make sure you read it if you haven't, because it's seriously a work of genius.

That's all I've got to say for right now. Thanks so much for reading, and thanks again to Tertiary Genesis for inspiring me to write this. I hope it meets your expectations, tG!

-tryanforever91


End file.
